


Insults, Food and Figure Skating

by Lazchan



Series: Tiger's Friendship [4]
Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-08
Updated: 2017-02-08
Packaged: 2018-09-22 21:11:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,892
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9625520
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lazchan/pseuds/Lazchan
Summary: Yuuri tries to study Russian to prepare for his upcoming move to St. Petersburg, Yuri decides to offer a hand.





	

Yuuri stared down at the Russian phrases, chewing on his lip and looking uncertain. It was a miracle he found a book that had Japanese to Russian, but the familiar letters from home mixed together with the Russian alphabet and he whimpered a little. He _almost_ missed the days in which he was learning English. _Almost._

_This was for living in Russia._ Even if it was just for a season and they moved back to Japan after, he wasn't going to be attached to Viktor for every moment of the day, trying to figure out how to get around. He could communicate with most of the other skaters in English, at least a little, but the same couldn't be said for the rest of Russia. He wouldn't even be able to take a cab or find his way around the city if he couldn't understand the letters.

"What the hell are you doing?" A voice was much too close to his ear and he yelped a little, turning to stare up at Yuri, who was giving him an incredulous stare in return. "I thought you were skating but you're in here… reading?" He scowl grew deeper as he squinted at the words and then understanding dawned.

"You're trying to teach yourself how to learn Russian?" he looked thoughtful. "I thought you'd have already done that, seeing how obsessed you were with Viktor," he muttered. "I know I've heard you use it before—" It wasn’t just English that figure skaters picked up; handfuls of other languages sprinkled across the countries found their way into their vocabulary as they made friends with different skaters from around the world.

"Yeah, but I can't exactly say _'Gde nakhoditsya katok_ ' or _'Ya figurist_ when I'm trying to order tea," Yuuri said dryly. "I don't think I'd be able to get anything that way and people would think I was stupid." He curled his fingers around the book. "I don't want to be seen as an idiot, Yuri and I don’t want to be … I don't want to be a burden to Viktor while I'm in Russia, either." His voice lowered and he felt the hitch in his breath that he knew all too well and he stood up quickly. "So yeah… I'm studying." He wanted—needed—to get away before the hitch turned into something else.

Yuri rolled his eyes at Yuuri's stumbling words. "As if Viktor would see you like that. He's so disgusting around you he'd probably whisper everything in your ear and insist upon it—" he crossed his arms against his chest.

"… I don't want to be dependent on him," Yuuri's voice grew stronger and the grip on the phrase book grew tighter. "I'm not a kid, Yuri—and I'm not going to be clinging to Viktor's hand like one, even if he wants to do it. There are going to be times when he's going to have to train on his own or go to places on his own. Just because we're…." he stared down at his ring as if he was trying to use the look to make up for the word he couldn't spit out. "It doesn’t mean that we live in each other's pockets."

Yuri chewed on his lip, hesitating for a moment and then shoving his hands in his pockets. " _YA khochu stakan chaya_ ," he muttered under his breath, shocking Yuuri right out of the anxiety attack that was forming and causing him to blink in surprise as he fumbled on how to respond.

"…what?" It didn't sound like one of Yuri's insults and there had been plenty of those shouted at him. It was barely meant to be _heard_ and he tried to think of what it could be, but his mind went blank. Yuri couldn't actually be _helping_ him, could he?

"It's how you ask for a glass of tea," Yuri clarified. "If you want jam with it, you ask for ' _varen'ye_ ' and sugar is ' _sakhar_ '."

"Jam?" Yuuri demanded, eyes going wide. He'd had sugar in tea when he was in Detroit, but _jam_? He eyed Yuri, unsure if it was a joke or not.

Yuri smiled and it was almost astonishing how the look transformed his face. "Your sister gave me the same look when I asked her for jam with my tea. Didn't realize your tea was so different," he huffed and rested against the lockers, relaxing now that it looked like Yuuri wasn't going to bolt out the door, phrase book in hand.

Yuuri shuddered a little still at the image. He'd never seen Viktor drinking tea that way, but Viktor, he noticed, was the type to immerse himself into whatever culture of the country he was in. Yuuri didn't quite feel the need to follow his example in such a way. He tried repeating the Russian, stumbling over the words and wincing a little.

"… Viktor won't be the only one that will want to help you, katsudon," Yuri didn't look at him as he spoke, and his smile shifted from the warm one to the familiar teasing smirk. "After all, you'll be training with the Russian team. Can't let anyone think we let someone who can't even speak into our rink."

"But you'll let a _porosenok_ into your home territory?" Yuuri couldn't help but tease back and it was worth the look of absolute astonishment on Yuri's face to refer to himself by the hated insult. He had actually looked that one up, sounding out the words and working it out.

"I.. you—do you even know what you said?" Yuri demanded. "You're not supposed to insult _yourself_ , damn it," he rubbed a hand through his hair, annoyed. "Have some self-respect, jeez. Don't even think of calling yourself that when you get to Russia," he ordered, pointing a finger at Yuuri.

"It was one of the first ones I learned after you and Viktor both called me that," Yuuri laughed, but it was ragged and a little pained. Sometimes, he still saw himself as that overweight, off-season figure skater that fell hard and fast. "Because if someone was going to insult me, I should at least know what they meant."

"… are you sure you need help with your Russian?" Yuri muttered.

"If I want more than insults and ice skating," Yuuri gave him a faint smile, still amused at Yuri's flushed annoyance. "I'm not going to go following your example, spitting insults at people." His fingers brushed over the book again, hesitating. "… Yuri… you had to learn English, right?" he asked. "Did you…did you have a book for it?" If he used English as a basis, he could at least have other people help easier.

Yuri opened his mouth, probably to demand why Yuuri was asking such a stupid question, but then understanding filled his expression. "Yeah, you're not going to get much help if you use that thing, " he pointed to the book Yuuri was holding, "until you can get at least some of the basics down by a native speaker and since Viktor and you will get all gross halfway through a lesson, I guess I can help." The last part was said grudgingly, but Yuuri caught the hint of what Yuri really meant.

"I look forward to it, Yuri," Yuuri still hated the idea of being dependent on someone, but it wasn’t as if he could learn it all on his own, without any help and… and well, he did figure out that that not even skating was done in a vacuum.

" _Idi suda, lentay_ ," Yuri smirked. "It might be your only chance if I sit down and teach you."

"Are you seriously going to teach me through _insults_?" Yuuri demanded, not sure if he should be amused or outraged and Yuri's look didn’t help matters at all.

"You got the other insults," Yuri's expression was too sly to be innocent of his intentions. "I'm sure you looked up a lot of what I _used_ to shout at you—"

"You still insult me," Yuuri muttered under his breath, but a lot of insults had lost their vitriol and sounded more teasing, like how Takeshi would tease him when they were training. Like Yuri was treating him as an actual friend—It hit him all of a sudden and he had to turn away to hide his smile at the idea that Yuri finally saw _him_ as a friend, not just Yuuri seeing Yuri as a friend.

"Then you'll understand how it works in Russia," Yuri grinned. "And Yakov—he shouts a lot," his expression was a mix of annoyance and amusement and he prodded Yuri while he talked, prying the book out of his hand and practically shoving the skates in them instead. "He's gonna flip his lid, having you come to Russia and compete against Viktor while he's your coach, too."

Yuri tensed up at that; he had enjoyed Yakov's coaching for the brief time he had it; the man was fair and strict, but he obviously had the experience to even let a wayward, temporary skater be able to gain some sort of confidence. Still, having the Russian team blame him if Viktor's attention was divided… _well, I'll just have to try harder than before_ , he told himself firmly. _So that they won't see it as a problem, that they'll see that we can manage both._ It wouldn't happen _this_ season, at least. Viktor wasn't going to make a comeback mid-season and even if he had been reigning world champ for five years running, they didn't grant him an automatic spot in the upcoming competitions, not even the European Championship.

 _I'm safe with Viktor just as my coach for this season_.

Yuri was still staring at him and his skates with a pointed look and Yuuri shook himself out of his thoughts to lace up his skates. He really had come here to skate; to relax and clear his mind—to think about what it would be like to live in Russia. It wasn't as if leaving Japan was something new; he'd spent five years in America, after all and traveled all over the world besides.

"Come on, katsudon," Yuri held out a hand until Yuuri got his balance on the skate guards, edging his way out to the ice. "I'll shout things at you until you think you've already left your small town and are in the center of St. Petersburg." He followed, his own steps carefully and precise; the last thing either of them wanted was the embarrassment of tripping over a loose bit of flooring and taking themselves out _not_ on the ice. "You'll feel right at home."

There was a huge grin on his face once they both hit the ice, though, dodging some of the regular skaters that came; people who came often enough and saw both of them often enough that they didn't even blink when they moved around them. "You should say _' Sankt-Peterburg - uzhasnyy gorod. Moskva gorazdo luchshe_ ' to Yakov when you first arrive." His tone was a little _too_ cheerful and it made Yuuri suspicious.

"Will it get me kicked out of the rink?" Yuuri asked instead, not even sure he wanted to know exactly what Yuri said, only that it had to do with St. Petersburg. He skated over to prop up a girl that was about to slide on the ice. "I promise I'm not going to steal your coach, Yuri. I could _try_ and go for something polite."

"But this way he knows I helped you," Yuri laughed. "There won't be any doubt about it and then you'll hear him _really_ shout and give you a rundown about how _wrong_ I am." He huffed and did a tight spin, garnering a few bits of applause from nearby skaters that obviously didn't know who _either_ of them were. "Even though I'm totally right and I'll prove it to you."

"… about what?" Yuuri still wasn’t sure what Yuri had said and it was clear that he wasn't going to get an answer yet.

"You'll figure it out." Yuri taunted him and wove in between a few skaters to a large, unused potion in the middle, practicing his spins while Yuuri tried to keep people from knocking into him that were more unsteady on their skates than he had been even when he was five.

"Your foreign friend is very good," Yuuri was momentarily distracted by what on earth Yuri could have wanted him to say that got that sort of gleeful reaction from him. An older woman was looking at Yuri with appreciation. "Does he do ice shows?"

Yuuri's covered a smile with one hand and looked down at the ice. _How old does she think Yuri is_? "Oh, he's quite good," he said lightly. _Wouldn't Yuri be furious if he knew what was being said_? _Imagine, Gran Prix Gold Medal champion, doing just regular ice shows for kids._ Even so, he saw Yuri's suspicious gaze land on him and the woman.

She didn't look entirely convinced, but her friend tugging at her arm pulled her away and there was a whispered conversation that he didn't catch, but he did see the discreet gesture towards him and Yuri and the woman stared at them both, eyes wide, before her friend dragged her off, looking as if she was scolding her.

Once Yuuri had skated next to Yuri, the other scowled at him. "What did she say?" he demanded. "I know she was talking about me. I did understand the word foreigner." Yuuri wasn’t surprised; he would have heard that a lot while in Hasetsu; he and Viktor stood out.

"I'm sure you'll figure it out," Yuuri said after a moment, his own smirk widening at Yuri's outraged look. _Two can play at that game_.

"… you're one _udivitel'nyy_ sort of a person, Yuuri." Yuri muttered, the tips of his ears red at giving a compliment that Yuuri probably wouldn't even understand, but Yuuri just skated closer and ruffled his hair. " _S toboy vse budet v poryadke_."

"You're nicer than you think you are, Yuri," he smiled at him, feeling the weight of the future slip back for a moment. He would have time to learn and even if it was in bits and pieces, shouting across the rink and jabs during lunches and after practice get-togethers, he'd learn all sorts of Russian. In exchange, he'd teach Yuri Japanese- it wouldn't hurt and he had a feeling that the three of them would float between the two countries over the years. If Yuri was going to help him survive in Russia, then Yuuri could return the favor for Japan.

Yuri huffed and rolled his eyes. "Don't let anyone else know," he threatened. "I can't have people thinking I'll be nice to people all the time." His cheeks were flushed were more than the cold, matching the embarrassed flush on his ears.

"We'll keep it our secret," Yuuri said quietly, squeezing Yuri's hand. "Thank you, Yuri."

"Idiot," Yuri muttered, yanking his hand away. "See how thankful you are when I shove you into a dive in St. Petersburg and make you order for the entire table to see how well I taught you." He was the one skating in between people now, Yuuri catching up in a weird sort of tag. "Although knowing how slow you can be, it might take me longer than I think to teach you."

Yuuri concentrated on not being ran over by people too overconfident as well as try and keep up with Yuri's barbs. "Well, guess you're going to have to spend a lot of time with me," he teased. "You can show me the best of Russia while you're at it."

"It won't be in Petersburg," Yuri muttered under his breath, Yuuri barely catching it and based on what Yuri said earlier… it clicked in his head, even if he didn’t think he knew all the words.

"You wanted me to insult St. Petersburg to Yakov?" he demanded, slightly horrified and glad that he had figured it out before he used the words against his better judgment. "You… you're not _from_ St. Petersburg," he said slowly and he wondered what else he could learn about his soon-to-be-rinkmates. He only knew a smattering here and there.

"And so you really _do_ understand insults more," Yuri shook his head in amazement. "You're a real wonder, Katsuki." The peppy song in the background was a strong contrast to how annoyed he look at the aggressive way he balanced on his blades. Of course I'm not from St. Petersburg. Moscow is much better city to be from."

Yuuri laughed and shook his head at how defensive Yuri was of his hometown. "I guess we all have our attachments," he said, skating backwards and smiling at Yuri. "We'll go on a tour," he said. "You can show me the best of Russia while insulting the various towns and cities until we get to the best."

"Damn right. I'll insult the people and the food and you'll get all of it." He still looked amused. "Insults, food and figure skating. What a genius you'll be at the rink."

"As long as I can get in something polite now and then." Insults, food and figure skating was how he and Yuri met, after all. It wasn't a bad place to start.

**Author's Note:**

> So forgive me for any really bad Russian -- google translate is not the most reliable, so take what I have with a grain of salt and hey, at least you know what I was going for! 
> 
> Now with updated phrases, thanks to [vika-knopa](http://vika-knopa.tumblr.com/) on tumblr that helped me correct my Russian! 
> 
> Gde nakhoditsya katok -Where is the ice rink  
> Ya figurist- I am a figure skater  
> YA khochu stakan chaya - I want a glass of tea  
> varen'ye- jam  
> sakhar- sugar  
> porosenok -piglet  
> Idi suda, lentay-Come here, lazy  
> Sankt-Peterburg-uzhasnyy gorod. Moskva gorazdo luchshe - St. Petersburg is a terrible city. Moscow is much better.  
> udivitel'nyy- surprising  
> S toboy vse budet v poryadke- you'll be fine


End file.
